Champions League: Galatasaray vs. Zalgiris Vilnius

Andre | 1st Aug. 2023 | Sport: Football

Football Tips: Galatasaray vs. Zalgiris
We are currently in the 2nd round of the Champions League qualification. Round and there are always exotic fixtures to choose from. It is unfortunate that Galatasary, the reigning Turkish champions, have to play so early in the qualifiers. However, the Turkish Football Association and the clubs themselves are to blame for this. The Lithuanians will have to be beaten today, and that is my prediction for today's game.

Galatasaray are the best Turkish team
Turkish fans are always passionate about their team and I hope they will forgive me for saying so. Fenerbahçe are the reigning cup winners and will no doubt be among the top teams, but Galatasaray won the league last year by 8 points and even strengthened their squad over the summer. Now they have added Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace. According to transfermarkt.de, Cim Bom (as the Turks call their club) are worth around 30 million more than Fenerbahçe. The club has finally calmed down and the off-field activities have stopped.

All the statistics, facts and figures of the Champions League qualifying second leg
-Market value Galatasaray: 223 million // Market value Zalgiris: 8 million

-Most valuable players: Zaniolo (27 million) for Galatasaray, Hnid (550,000) for Zalgiris

First leg ended 2-2 -Dangerous attacks: Galatasaray 118, Zalgiris 50

Fans at kick-off in the stadium: 52,000

My prediction for Galatasaray Istanbul vs. Zalgiris Vilnius
I used the statistics above to illustrate how different these two teams are. The 2-2 draw in the first leg deserves respect and should not be swept under the carpet. The return leg will be a different ballgame in Istanbul. Gala have the likes of Mertens, Zaniolo, Bakambu, Angelino and club legend Muslera. The Lithuanians simply cannot compete. I can imagine that the first leg was a bit underestimated and they still lacked the necessary match practice, but this will not be repeated in the second leg. If Galatasaray score an early goal, Zalgiris will no longer be able to sit back and watch, but will have to go forward and create space for Gala's speedy strikers. Zalgiris even had a league game at the weekend, which they lost 2-1 at home.

Bet: Tipp 1 -2,5 Handicap

The best odds are with NEO.bet: 1,98